After Strictly Come Dancing stars Seann Walsh and Katya Jones were captured kissing - despite both being in relationships at the time - all eyes were on their return to the show.

However, many who tuned in to BBC One on Saturday night were left angered by how it unfolded.

The reason? Viewers said the judges were giving "sympathy" votes to the pair, who spent much of the preceding week on the front pages of national newspapers.

Despite the furore, Seann, who was publicly dumped by his partner amid the controversy, and Katya, who is married to Strictly professional Neil Jones, put their game faces on for their jaunty Charleston set in a pizza restaurant.

The pair performed a Charleston dance and were cheered for several difficult lifts - which landed them their highest ever score.

However, some viewers weren't convinced by the pair's high marks, questioning how they were higher-placed than the likes of Graeme Swann, Joe Sugg and Danny John-Jules.

One wrote on Twitter : "How did Seann and Katya score more than Joe and Dianne or Graeme and Oti? That dance was a mess. Clearly given judges' sympathy vote for weathering the media storm - which they totally brought on themselves."

Another said: "Sorry judges, that was scored far too highly... how did Seann score more than DannyJohnJules I know they've had a bad week but they shouldn't get sympathy votes! bbcstrictly."

"Judges putting Seann and Katya in the top half of the leaderboard so that they definitely don't go home. Bore off, their dance was nowhere near that score," another wrote.

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"Seann's score did not reflect what I saw #strictly," one viewer said, while another said that Walsh's routine was "clumsy and sloppy" and the judges "marked him higher despite bad footwork, sympathy voting yet again".

James Jordan also chimed in, writing: "So the judges think Kevin and Stacey were better than Pasha and Ashley. Stacey was good but not even in the same league tonight. Plus I feel Sean and Katya were overmarked to keep them safe."

However, there was also support on social media for Seann, 32, and Katya, 29, who did not refer to the scandal at all during the BBC One broadcast.

One viewer said: "Regardless of what is going on in their private lives, Seann and Katya have to come out and deliver a performance in front of millions of people so fair play.

"Plus I did think the matrix tango last week was AMAZING #Strictly."

Another wrote: "Regardless of anything other than their dancing Katya and Seann are brilliant!! Wow Katya choreography is amazing!! Best dance of the night #Strictly."

One viewer asked others to "please stop judging Seann and Katya based on the events of the past week".

They added: "#strictly2018 is about the dancing not the romancing so stop basing your vote on their mistake. They just danced incredibly well and everyone will over look that to screw them over!"

(Image: PA)

There had been speculation that Walsh and Jones might leave the competition, or that they would be marked poorly as a result, but the judges insisted they would score the pair on their dancing alone.